Gary Shaw Contradicts Jared "$kala" Shaw and Jeremy Lappen

by Kid Nate on Oct 9, 2008 9:34 AM EDT in News Comment 18 comments

Method_get_cs_1_s_75b243b3-1d09-6bfc-e569b7e02a3fea30_medium The major media is covering the "StandGate" scandal now and the L.A. Times gets former EliteXC headman Gary Shaw to make a very damning statement that directly contradicts the claims of current bossman Jeremy Lappan and Shaw's son Jared.

Elite XC consultant Gary Shaw said he wouldn't hesitate to "go to a fighter and say, 'We're looking for a stand-up fight.' You're not asking him to throw a fight. You're talking about a fan-friendly fight, not about protecting Kimbo."

Shaw said he has urged MMA fighters in the past to maximize the action, to avoid an abundance of yawn-inspiring wrestling.

"Do I think that's unethical? No," Shaw said. "Because in MMA, you get bonus money for a knockout. I don't see it as unethical . . . asking him to be TV and fan friendly."

That's a signed confession from the man who more than anyone built the EliteXC organization. Its an admission that he hates and misunderstands the sport of MIXED martial arts.

And the whole scandal is an indication that the Shaws have brought sleaze and corruption from the boxing world into MMA.

Here's Zach Arnold on what it all means:

Yesterday, I said that the media should have covered the PRIDE yakuza scandal more seriously than they did (coverage barely existed in the States). That scandal negatively impacted the business in a big way. Hopefully, everyone in the media, in the MMA industry, and those who work at state athletic commissions starts investigating the ’stand-up’ fighting scandal.

Make no mistake about it — if Dana White wants to use his clout to push this story further in American media circles, he can. Would UFC benefit from this? Yes. However, so would the industry as a whole. Everyone has a vested interest in keeping as much corruption out of this business as possible. If you don’t think UFC management has a vested interest in seeing things stay as clean as possible, then you don’t understand what’s at stake here.

This is the kind of corrupt bullshit that can kill our sport in the cradle. We MUST stand up and demand a full investigation and if there's proof that EliteXC has been paying fighters to alter their tactics and game plans, everyone involved should be drummed from the sport.

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Son of a bitch!!

This is unbelievable and to me it lends even more credence to Seth’s initial comments.

by dnevil001 on Oct 9, 2008 9:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's one thing...

to make it known that exciting fights are what you want (and knowing his background that means standup fights) but to say that you WOULD and HAVE gone directly to fighters and requested things be fought a specific way? That is shockingly unethical and leave it to a guy like Shaw to say it isn’t.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 9, 2008 9:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I know!!

Good lord this sounds bad. For this guy to actually come out & say this is really unbelievable & makes me wonder if they even think they can continue or if they are just looking for any sort of publicity or attention they can draw to themselves, no matter how negative it is.

by dnevil001 on Oct 9, 2008 9:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I hope Dana does bury their asses.

http://mma4real.net/

by Tha Realness on Oct 9, 2008 9:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So Shaw is basically saying that making the fights “exciting” is way more important than the integrity of the sport? Down that path lies Vince McMahon. Do they not understand that regardless of the reason they are doing it that’s still potentially influencing the outcome of a fight? Is that why Nick Diaz keeps trying to stand and punch it out with guys in EliteXC fights instead of doing what he is best at (he hasn’t submitted anyone since the Gomi fight)? Talk about a slippery slope and Shaw just admits to it like it’s no big deal. The ground game is part of what makes MMA “MMA”, even if it’s not always exciting it’s still part of the sport.

by who me on Oct 9, 2008 10:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why didn't EliteXC just do Kickboxing instead?

by cyph on Oct 9, 2008 10:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That’s what they think MMA is.

by Luke Thomas on Oct 9, 2008 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

they think its a kickboxing version

of a tough man contest. That’s why they didn’t steer Kimbo into pro boxing. They know he’d get killed, but they don’t see MMA fighters as having skills so they figured they could carry Kimbo along.

by Kid Nate on Oct 9, 2008 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah...

they seem to honestly think that anyone who would go to the ground does so because they aren’t good at striking. Which in many cases is true…but is also what makes the sport beautiful. It is multi-dimensional and allows everyone to fight to their strengths while attempting to cover their weaknesses.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 9, 2008 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right now...

it feels like if the NFL were to tell a blitzing defense “can you guys back off and just give the QB some time to pass. Fans love high scoring offensive games. We’re not trying to fix the game…but there might be a little money in it for ya”

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Oct 9, 2008 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Word!

Its not like MMA couldn’t use a feeder league where guys could practice their striking. K1 is dope but its not on CBS.

by asa on Oct 9, 2008 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not to sound dramatic, but offering a knockout bonus only, and encouraging your fighters to stand is fight fixing to me. I watch mma on the assumption that the fight I’m seeing is real. EliteXC isn’t fixing the fight in the traditional sense, but they are still influencing the outcome of the fight. That’s no way to determine who the best fighters are.

At this point, it’s in the best interest of the sport for EliteXC to simply go away.

by Andy R on Oct 9, 2008 11:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

It’s one thing to offer a fight bonus in order to entice the fighters to keep it exciting, as the UFC does. It’s another to simply offer the bonus to eliminate a certain part of the sport (ground game) because one thinks it’s not what fans want to see. I know you can’t really help when uneducated spectators boo because the fight goes to the ground, but this is unreal.

by pud333 on Oct 9, 2008 12:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i thought we had heard and seen the last of this track suit wearing clown.

by asmiley420 on Oct 9, 2008 12:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’ve grown very concerned about CBS’s role in this. They sound unwilling to treat MMA as a sport even though they’re using Gus Johnson in the production. It’s just my opinion at this point that they see this venture as something they can dispose of if it’s not living up to their expectations ratings wise. In turn, they, as a broadcaster, have no true incentive to do what’s in the best interest of the sport – long-term.

For that matter, ProElite is in desperate financial straights. This gives them more of an incentive to do things that provide a short-term boost in interest. Not that they need any further reason to do the wrong thing by the sport of MMA as they’ve been engaging in these types of activities since their beginning. CBS is in a position to get answers. Their lack of interest in this potential scandal is worrisome to say the least.

by Cannon Jacques on Oct 9, 2008 12:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I demand a lay and pray bonus!!!

I demand a most lopsided-sided decision bonus!!!

These are valid ways to win and not offering bonuses for these types of fight and not booking these fights and fighters to main event fights is ruining the integrity of the sport.

Yes it does, but where do you draw the line? To say it a promoter can’t suggest to fighters ways to make a fight interesting is just stupid to me. Everybody else can, but the guy who’s paying the checks? I would hope that promoters are allowed this communication with their fighters.

by natyong on Oct 9, 2008 3:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

sure, exciting fighter get prefrence, but if you stand and lose and get more money then if you LnP to win then its wrong. If you offer the KO bonus to only the guys fighting stand up fighters then its wrong. If you are trying to give an advantage to certain fighters then you are doing something wrong. If they said, “win or lose I will give you 50K to stand with Kimbo”, then its wrong because they are thinking that the only way Kimbo is going to win is if this guy stand with him. I don’t want to say thats what they are thinking, but thats what they need to investigate. To make sure things are on the up and up. Its really a question of are they trying to stack the deck more then just heavy handed match making (which is not right either, but a part of the sport to some degree).

by szucconi on Oct 9, 2008 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It shouldn’t be about the bonuses at all it should be about proving who is the best fighter in the cage. Saying that a knockout is exciting but a submission isn’t is just plain stupid (particularly for a sport that started in the US to promote Gracie BJJ). You can get a bonus for lay and pray, it’s the win bonus but this is a specific bonus that is only given to specific fighters for specific fights only if they win only by knock out. Submission specialist don’t get squat because Gary Shaw thinks everything but stand up fighting is boring.

There is nothing wrong with the promoter pushing for exciting fights right up to the point where they start doing things that influence the outcome of the fight, then you have a real problem. Is Fedor’s 16 submission wins less valuable than his 6 KO wins? Should he get paid way more for the fights where he knocks someone out over where he submits the other guy? Both are finishing the fight but is one more valuable or impressive of a win? Would he of choked Tim Sylvia out if there was only a knock out bonus only or would he of changed what he was doing at the end to try and work for a knock out with a broken hand just to get that money? Would it of been very fishy if the promoters had tried to influence Fedor to stand up and trade with HMC instead of going for a submission? Having only a knock out bonus can have a significant influence on how fighters game plan their fights.

by who me on Oct 9, 2008 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs